Notes: The first issue to attempt a theme – various Hollywood actors trying to either make a movie of ‘V’ or kidnap its author, Thomas Pynchon.
It’s weird, I don’t even like ‘V’ that much, it was just what I was reading at the time. Some good stories came out of it though, especially the Jack Nicholson one.
I think this was the first issue where I got other people to write for it too. Lawrence Gray…whatever happened to him? His story was the Clint Eastwood one and I thought it was quite good.

Issue 5

Print run: 2500

Places: HK, London, Sydney, Philly, New York, a few others I can’t remember now

Notes: This one had some good stories but followed the format of the previous zines too closely. Also, I tried to expand a little and send it to more places, while at the same time not printing so many copies as the last one I printed, I was putting them anywhere and everywhere…even in a pet shop…and that’s never a good tactic.

Notes: this is the zine where the whole thing really came together and realised what it wanted to be. There are loads of inserts, and almost everything relates to other things in the zine and it looks like a huge mess but it’s not really.
I think some of it’s actually quite moving, but that’s probably just me. Should I be moved by my own writing? Maybe not. But I was moved by a character that wasn’t me, so maybe that makes it okay.

Issue 7

Print run:1500

Places: Same as issue 6, but also to random people in other cities like Austin who spread it around for me.

Notes: The issue that got the biggest reaction, maybe because it was the most personal. It had three editorials and non-fiction text broken up by e-mails to my friends or ex-friends or people I generally knew.
I remember one guy e-mailed me, saying: ‘I’ve found you, but have you found me?’
Another guy found a copy in a subway in Austin…or so he said. Does Austin have a subway? By subway, I mean the metro.

Issue 8

Print run: 1800

Places: really can’t remember, but it must’ve been London, HK and Sydney. I think I went to Brisbane too, when this was printed, so I probably put some there.

Notes: The first few pages of this one were just a stream of angry consciousness that was really genuine at the time – looking back, it was probably a mistake, I didn’t hold onto that anger, but I wanted to put something in the zine that was really petulant and childish, the rage that we all have but only ever put in fiction.
Also, the Mark Wahlberg movie retrospective and the Green Hornet piece were quite funny, I think.

Notes: I tried to make this one look prettier, and I think it works, kind of. Not much else to say…I get this one confused with issue 10 a lot.
Oh yeah, I went back to A4 with this one, and colour too. I guess I must’ve had some cash from somewhere…not sure where.

Issue 14

Print run: 1000

Places: HK, London and lots of zine stores and comic shops and bars around the world

Notes: I targeted specific places for this zine. It cost quite a lot for the mailing, and I don’t know if it was really worth it. There weren’t many e-mails or much in the way of response. Looking at it now, maybe it was just too weird…or maybe I didn’t print enough copies. Who knows?

Issue 16

Print run: 1500

Places: HK, London, Sydney, Alabama, Wellington, various video game bars around the world

Notes: For the first time I’ve opened the zine up to other writers who I don’t know…writers I’ve found online mostly. Hopefully it’ll spread a bit further than it ever does in the real world when I put the PDF version on this site.
We’ll see…

#

Here’s a list of where you can find a copy [note: some of these places are closed now, and some of them only had 1-2 issues of the zine dropped there because I only ever went there once or twice and think it’s pointless to send it to them again]

Hong Kong

Phonograph [TST – best bar in HK]

Full Cup Cafe [Mong Kok]

Garden Cafe, City Uni [Kowloon Tong]

Kapok [Wan Chai – but there are only 4 copies here, that’s all they wanted]

ACO Books [Wan Chai]

Cafe Corridor [CWB – or is it Coffee Corridor? I forget…]

People’s Community cafe [CWB – not sure if this name is right, it’s the book cafe with all the Mao stuff]

Brunch Club [CWB + Soho]

Culture Club [Soho]

Konzepp [Sheung Wan]

Rat’s Cave [Sheung Wan]

Club 71 [Soho]

HK Reader [Mong Kok]

Joyce is not here [Soho]

Baby Buddha [Soho]

Flow books [Soho]

XXX Gallery [Sheung Wan]

Blue Lotus Gallery [Fo Tan]

Uni of HK [Outside the bookshop]

Chinese Uni [Not sure where I was exactly…near a cafeteria]

Above Second Gallery [Sheung Wan]

PARA/SITE Gallery [Sheung Wan]

Shek Kip Mei Art Estate [In the cafe]

Cattle Depot [Near the old airport]

Star Crossed Tattoos [Tsim Sha Tsui]

Home cafe [Sheung Wan]

London/Oxford/Brighton

The Alibi

Loading Bar

Dalston Superstore

Book Club

Lik + Neon

Beyond Retro

Poetry Cafe [Covent Garden]

Foyles Cafe [stairwell]

Fopp

Queen of Hoxton

Cafe Kick

Cafe 1001

Nobrow Gallery

Candid Cafe

Inspiral Lounge

Mega City Comics

Magma

Baby Bathhouse [Not what you think]

Bookartzineshop

Climpsons & Sons [Not sure if this is the correct name – it’s on Broadway Market]